This Woman Editing Herself Into The Bachelor Is Brilliance Personified

Only one thing could make scores of women actually look forward to Mondays: a chance to tune into the insane spectacle that is The Bachelor. If you're not watching, the show features a bunch of people "falling in love" with someone they've known for less time than it takes leg hair to grow back after a wax. At the end of the season, The Bachelor or Bachelorette either makes a proposal or accepts one (although in rare cases, they choose no one, which prompts claims of it being the most! dramatic! season! ever!).

Given that The Bachelor franchise includes some of the best reality TV programming of all time, we can't blame Molly Hawkey, a 37-year-old Los Angeles-based comedian, for wanting to get in on the action. "Last season, when Chris was the Bachelor, I realized I had to try to fool people into believing I was on the next season. When an idea makes me giggle and snort, I know it’s good," she tells SELF.

As a result of that lightbulb moment, Hawkey's editing herself into The Bachelor videos and uploading the final products to YouTube. It's safe to say the show would benefit from having her as a contestant. Molly Hawkey for next Bachelorette!

Hawkey's spoofs of The Bachelor's signature ridiculousness would actually fit right in.

Like when she cries because Ben Higgins, season 20's Bachelor, went on a date with other people, i.e., fulfilled the most basic premise of the entire show.

(Yes, contestants actually treat this like an epiphany sometimes). She also notes that she has a level of "familiarity" with Higgins because at 26, he reminds her of her 23-year-old nephew. Cool, cool.

Speaking of age, contestants on The Bachelor are usually in their early to mid-20s, occasionally in their late-20s, and rarely in their 30s. Yay for representation!

"By making these Bachelor videos, I’m poking fun not only at the show, but also at the industry that makes us believe we’re not attractive if we’re old," says Hawkey. "This myth has been holding me back since before it even applied to me—since I was 'young'—but in the past few months, I’ve started breaking through whatever irrelevant mold I was trying to fit into." We'd support that mission, even if the results weren't so hilarious.

She's not just posting videos—Hawkey also made a Facebook page for her lovelorn persona.

There are the typical snazzy headshots, but this is the best photo because of the caption: "Just found this shot of me and my girls! Wish I didn't look like I was sleeping. I was probably checking my phone LOL."

Hawkey isn't a longtime fan of The Bachelor—it's quite the opposite. Even though she'd always avoided reality TV, she became a fan of the show after watching an episode of season 18, which featured Juan Pablo Galavis as the Bachelor. "No matter how much I fought it, I was hooked," says Hawkey.

She also explains that watching the show raised such pressing questions for her as, "Is this the real America? How do they all have such perfect bodies? Why are they all so young? So white? Why don’t they ever show anyone eating food?" All things any devoted fan of the franchise has wondered at one point or another.

Hawkey's performance is basically Emmy-worthy.

Again, note the caption. Hawkey's pretty convincingly committed to this journey of finding everlasting love. "I love the confusion I’ve stirred up, and I’m running with it," she says. "I think by now most people are in on the joke, but I’m still keeping my edits as subtle as possible, just to keep the question mark alive."

She's also more upfront than a lot of other contestants would be in her shoes.

In the confessionals, she spills that she quit lacrosse because she "got really heavy into drugs and alcohol"—she's OK now, don't worry!—and that she missed a group date since she had to "shave [her] pits." Apparently her armpit hair grows like weeds thanks to the hormone fluctuations that go along with being 37.

The funny thing is that during this process, Hawkey's realized she has something crucial in common with this season's contestants: brewing affection for Ben. "I used to think he was boring. But after spending hour upon hour staring at his face while editing, I’m not so sure anymore," she says. "I may have developed a tiny crush. It’s not right. He really is almost the same age as my nephew."

Eventually, she has a full-on meltdown.

Just like many actual contestants do when they're confined to a mansion with little access to the real world, a ton of alcohol, forced skydiving dates, and the pressure to compete for one person's heart!

Watch one of Hawkey's best videos here, and check out her YouTube page for the rest.